W. H. Auden Quotes

The loss of Eden is personally experienced by every one of us as we leave the wonder and magic and also the pains and terrors of childhood.

I was fortunate to have had a lively, happy childhood, but somewhere along the way I convinced myself I wasn't wanted anywhere or by anyone if I wasn't thin.

Like anybody, you have moments when you question yourself and you're insecure.

Unlike most other children, - especially unlike those of today - who are eager to become men and women as speedily as possible, I had a terror of growing up, which became more and more accentuated as I grew older.

Childhood is a disease - a sickness that you grow out of.

Sometimes adults seem as though they have cut a chord from being a child.

I was afraid of just about everything in this world, with the possible exception of my mother and I wasn't too sure about her.

I am honestly not sure how capable I am of love. And I'm not sure why.

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.

What makes Hulk afraid? It's himself. It's a version of himself that's weak. It's a version of himself that's vulnerable. It's a child inside of him.

Ever since I was a child, I have loved being the centre of attention, but similarly, I can't remember a time in my life that I haven't battled with all sorts of quandaries, fears and weaknesses.

I have a great need for affection from an audience. I don't know whether this is because I had such a tough life when I was a child.

I remember specifically, for me, as a kid growing up or as a young teenager, if I ever cried or got upset in front of anybody, I would be so humiliated.

Even I doubt myself sometimes. I mean, there's days that I get down on myself, and I doubt myself.

I was painfully self-obsessed and self-aware. I wanted people to love me but at the same time I was terrified of them.

'Places to Go' is something that I would never normally write because I would usually be worried with what people would think about me.

I don't love the way I look. Nobody does, and if they do, I don't want to be that person's friend. But we all know what we're insecure about. The question I had as I was writing was, 'How are these things affecting the way I live? How am I compensating because I don't like this about myself? What do I do to cover it up?'

Reading 'IT' again as an adult, you understand it from a different perspective. It is basically a love letter to childhood and talks about all of the treasures of that time, like imagination and belief, that are inevitably lost in adulthood.

I feel I'm a hard person to like.

The first movie that ever scared me, I feel like it wasn't a scary movie. I feel like it was 'Dennis the Menace' or something.

I suspect I wasn't loved enough as a child.

I remember learning as a kid that love meant loneliness and confusion.

People may see me as a luxurious star, but I am always thinking I can be represented by my psychological world that is fraught with vanity, loneliness, and always feels inadequate.

As usual, my mind is spinning in circles...is it me? Am I making mountains out of molehills? Being too analytical? Worrying about nothing? Being emotional?

My self-confidence can be measured out in teaspoons mixed into my poetry, and it still always tastes funny in my mouth.